02-15-97summary

Board of Regents

SUMMARY OF ACTIONS

1. Approval of Bachelor of Science Degree Program in Environmental Science at the University of Alaska Southeast

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the Bachelor of Science degree program in Environmental Science at the University of Alaska Southeast. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

2. Approval of Schematic Design for UAA Engineering Building Ventilation Project and Authority to Bid and Award a Contract

PASSED

"As required by Regents' Policy 05.12.02C, the Board of Regents approves the schematic design for the UAA Engineering Building Ventilation Project as presented and authorizes the university administration to proceed with this project pending adequate funding up to a total project cost of $754,000. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

3. Approval of Expenditures for the Silviculture Treatments

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the use of proceeds from the sale, lease, or other disposition of trust lands to fund silviculture treatments on trust lands. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

4. Approval of Sale of UAA Adult Learning Center Facility, Anchorage

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents authorizes the university administration to sell Lots 12, 13 & 14 in Davis Subdivision, including existing improvements, through public offering, and to execute all documents necessary to complete this transaction including a Deed of Trust/Deed of Trust Note. After the cost of sale, proceeds from the sale or lease are to be for the benefit of UAA's Adult Learning Center program. The university administration is directed to present a spending plan of the proceeds of the sale or lease to the Board of Regents for approval pursuant to Board of Regents' Policy. If no acceptable offers are received within a reasonable marketing period, the university administration is authorized to lease the property. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

7. Approval of Amendment and Restatement of the Advance College Tuition Plan

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves and adopts the amended and restated University of Alaska Advance College Tuition Payment Plan (Plan), as included in Reference 13, and authorizes the university president to implement interim procedures and take whatever actions are reasonably necessary, including establishing interim redemption values and refund procedures, to facilitate implementation of the revised Plan. The amendment to the Plan shall be effective January 1, 1997, except as otherwise stated in the Plan. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

8. Approval of Spending Plan for Earnings Deposited to the Natural Resources Fund

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the spending plan for the Natural Resources Fund as presented in Reference 14. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

9. Resolution Regarding Federal Land Grant

WHEREAS, the University of Alaska is the last traditional land grant college to be established in the United States; and

WHEREAS, in 1915, the Congress of the United States created for the university's financial support a land reservation of approximately 268,000 acres; and

WHEREAS, the original grant of land by the Congress to the future University was made when Alaska had been granted limited self government only three years before, through a small, unrepresentative legislature, having a population of only 50,000 scattered over 586,000 square miles and having no ability to evaluate, assess, survey or otherwise determine what lands would ultimately be in its own self interest; and

WHEREAS, the land reserved by Congress could not be transferred for the benefit of the university until surveyed; and

WHEREAS, limited federal government funding caused surveying to proceed slowly so that as late as the 1950s only 0.6 percent of Alaska had been surveyed under the standard rectangular system, and there was no genuine opportunity for the University of Alaska to receive its original land entitlement; and

WHEREAS, in 1929, to remedy in part the continuing long delays anticipated in the transfer of lands reserved by the Act of 1915, Congress granted an additional 100,000 acres for the benefit of the university, including the establishment of a campus at Fairbanks; and

WHEREAS, by 1958 the University of Alaska had received less than one-third of its land grant entitlement; and

WHEREAS, the 1958 Alaska Statehood Act explicitly extinguished the 1915 reservation, leaving the university in the largest state in the union with an unfulfilled promise and, with the exception of Delaware, the smallest federal land entitlement for higher education in the United States, making the University of Alaska a federal land grant college with virtually no land; and

WHEREAS, if the land grant to the University equaled the average percentage that other universities received as their land grant entitlement from the land within the state boundaries created by the Congress, the University of Alaska would have today a total of 5,300,000 acres; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of federal land grants was to provide a sound financial base for the support of higher educational institutions; and

WHEREAS, with its limited land base, the University of Alaska balanced development with proper stewardship, creating jobs for the Alaska economy, and established an endowment which supports the university's missions of teaching, research, and service to the public; and

WHEREAS, despite the university's stewardship, this minimal land grant base, combined with declining state funding, provides an insufficient level of support for the university to fulfill its federal land grant mission; and

WHEREAS, an equitable restoration of the original intent of the federal land grant legislation applied to the State of Alaska in 1997 would compel an addition of at least 750,000 acres to the University of Alaska's federally-granted land base;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska respectfully requests that the Alaska Congressional Delegation introduce and work for the enactment of federal legislation to establish grants of land to the University of Alaska to fulfill the promises made to the University of Alaska by the federal government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution be appropriately conveyed to Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Frank Murkowski and Congressman Don Young, with a copy incorporated into the official minutes of the February 14, 1997 meeting of the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves the resolution regarding an additional federal land grant, and directs the university administration to convey this resolution to Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Frank Murkowski and Congressman Don Young. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

10. Annual Budget Process

TABLED UNTIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF APRIL 17, 1997

"The Board of Regents modifies the budget review process as follows:

1. At the first regular meeting after the end of the regular legislative session, the administration will report to the Board of Regents on the budget appropriated by the legislature for the next fiscal year, and will recommend a plan for allocation of that budget among MAUs.

2. At the second regular meeting after the end of the regular legislative session, the administration will recommend allocation of the current year budget. Budget information will be at a level sufficient to allow the Board of Regents to understand the impacts of budget decisions on the operations of the university.

3. At the second regular meeting after the end of the regular legislative session, the administration will also present a draft operating and capital incremental budget request for the next fiscal year. This will be a systemwide request, incorporating all MAUs into a single uniform document.

4. At the third regular meeting after the end of the regular legislative session, the administration will present a second draft incremental budget request that incorporates public comment and the Board of Regents' comments and concerns expressed at the previous meeting. The request as approved by the Board of Regents at this meeting will represent the Board of Regents' budget proposal to the Governor and the Legislature for the next fiscal year.

"The Board of Regents directs the vice president for finance and planning to work with the MAUs on standards for measuring outcomes performance and on developing a list of budget request units (BRUs), with the intention that such standards and BRUs then be incorporated into the budget process. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

12. Resolution of Appreciation for Virginia W. Breeze

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, the daughter of Alaska pioneers Dr. William Massie and Dorothy Johnson Whitehead, and was present at an historical moment in Alaska's history, serving as assistant secretary for the Alaska State Senate during the first state legislature held in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze attended the University of Washington School of Communications and was graduated magna cum laude in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in communications and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze has distinguished herself in the communications profession for over 30 years, working for such prestigious firms as Mystrom Advertising; Holden, Hackney and Breeze; and Corporate Communications Strategies; and as evidenced by her numerous awards from the Public Relations Society of America; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze has also shown her commitment to public service as shown by her involvement in the Juneau League of Women Voters where she served as president, the Alaska Press Club, where she served as president, Alaska Public Television, the Alaska State Historical Records Advisory Board, Anchorage Symphony Board, and the Alaskan of the Year Board; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze was appointed by Governor Steve Cowper to the University of Alaska Board of Regents in 1989, following in the footsteps of her father, Dr. William M. Whitehead, who served with distinction on the Board of Regents in the mid-1960s and in whose memory as well as Mrs. Whitehead's the Whitehead Building on the University of Alaska Southeast campus is named; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze has distinguished herself as a leader of the Board of Regents by serving as a member of the Human Resources Committee; as chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee; as a member of the Board of Regents/Board of Education joint committee, a committee she was instrumental in creating and sustaining; and as vice president of the Board of Regents from 1993 to 1995; and

WHEREAS, Virginia W. Breeze has fulfilled her duties as a regent with charm, grace and dignity, always exhibiting a sense of fairness, integrity, and genuine concern and empathy for the students, faculty and staff of the University of Alaska, as well as for the citizens of the state of Alaska, exemplifying two philosophies she holds dear: "Hold hands as you walk across the street," and "Be nice as often as you can";

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents recognizes the dedicated service of Virginia W. Breeze, and extends to her this official statement of appreciation for her contributions to the University and the advancement of higher education in Alaska; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be appropriately engrossed and conveyed to Virginia W. Breeze with a copy incorporated in the official minutes of the February 14, 1997 meeting of the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves the Resolution of Appreciation for Virginia W. Breeze as amended. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

13. Resolution of Appreciation for Eric Forrer

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer was immersed at a very early age in cross-cultural settings as the son of parents who were committed to education, and demonstrated this commitment by teaching on Indian Reservations and in rural Alaska for eighteen years; and whose service was honored in 1970 when they were presented with the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching Art; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer, from third grade to high school graduation, attended correspondence study, earning the outstanding high school supervised correspondence student of the year for the United States in 1959-60; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer attended the University of British Columbia and the University of Alaska, majoring in mathematics; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer attended the "school of life" as he traveled the Tanana and Yukon Rivers from 1968 to 1970 in the skiff he built himself; worked as a plumber in Kotzebue on the new public health utilities system; worked at the Poker Flat Rocket Research Range as a plumber and carpenter in 1970 and 1971; worked in Kasilof as a plant manager of a fish processing plant; and has worked in the building trades and as a commercial fisherman since 1975; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer has incorporated his experience in carpentry and Native culture with his family traditions of art, and has created genuine works of art as evidenced by his design and construction of the yellow cedar carved door which graces the University of Alaska President's Residence in Fairbanks, this door having been called "beautiful, elegant, fit to grace the White House or Buckingham Palace"; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer has also distinguished himself as a writer with the publishing of many articles, papers, and two books, From the Nets of a Salmon Fisherman and Bucket; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer was appointed by Governor Steve Cowper to the University of Alaska Board of Regents in 1989; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer has served with distinction on the Board of Regents as a member of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, the Human Resources Committee, and the Board of Regents/Board of Education Subcommittee; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer, in 1993, was appointed by then Board of Regents President Sharon Gagnon to the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, a position he held until his term on the Board of Regents expired, serving as its chair from 1995 to 1997; and while serving on that body was instrumental in furthering the review of the statutes and the upgrade of student loan databases, efforts which had been desperately needed; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer has been called "the conscience of the board," never letting the Board of Regents forget, as he has stated in a speech to university graduates in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Fairbanks, that "the University is about knowledge and it is about connections from the past on through to the future"; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer, a Pennsylvania Dutchman who sees through the eyes of an Alaska Native and has brought that unique perspective to every university-related issue; and

WHEREAS, Eric Forrer's wry wit, clarity of vision, sense of calm, and voice of reason have been invaluable assets to the Board of Regents, the University of Alaska, and the citizens of Alaska;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents recognizes the exemplary service of Eric Forrer, and extends to him this official statement of appreciation for his advancements of higher education to all Alaskans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be appropriately engrossed and conveyed to Eric Forrer with a copy incorporated in the official minutes of the February 14, 1997 meeting of the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the Resolution of Appreciation for Eric Forrer as stated above. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

14. Planning and Development Committee of the Board of Regents

PASSED

"The Board of Regents directs the president of the board to activate the Planning and Development Committee. This motion is effective February 14, 1997."

15. The Science Coalition

PASSED

"The Board of Regents directs the university administration to join the Steering Committee of the The Science Coalition. This motion is effective February 15, 1997."

16. Approval of Administrative Structure for the College of Natural Resources, University of Alaska Fairbanks

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the university administration's recommendation on the administrative structure for the College of Natural Resources at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This motion is effective February 15, 1997."